Objectives

The initial objectives of the Honolulu Heart Program were to: 1) estimate morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease and stroke among Japanese men in Honolulu; 2) compare morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease and stroke among Japanese men in Japan, Honolulu, and San Francisco; 3) investigate relationships among risk factors, coronary heart disease, and stroke in Japanese men in Honolulu; 4) compare distributions of risk factors among men in Japan, Honolulu, and San Francisco, and relate similarities and differences in risk factors to the occurrence of disease in these areas and in other populations, including Framingham and Puerto Rico; 5) conduct an autopsy study, and to relate pathological findings to morbidity and mortality data; and 6) investigate relationships between risk factors and pathological evidence of atherosclerosis and its complications.

Background

The Honolulu Heart Program was initiated in 1965 by the NHLBI as a prospective study of environmental and biological causes of cardiovascular disease among Japanese Americans living in Hawaii. This population was known to have low incidence of coronary heart disease and higher incidence of stroke. The study provided opportunities to investigate relationships among disease frequencies, pathologic findings, and disease predictors in the cohort and to compare the findings in this population with those in other populations, especially cohorts of Japanese men resident in Japan or the U.S.

Subjects

American men of Japanese ancestry born in 1900-1919 and living on the island of Oahu in 1965; age at entry 28-62 years; sample size: 8,006.

Design

The study began in 1965 with the first examination of a cohort of 8,006 Japanese-American men residing on the island of Oahu, Hawaii who were born during the period 1900-1919. The first examination was completed in 1968 and was followed by the initiation of a second examination that same year. Three subsequent sub-examinations (Lipoprotein Exams I, II and III) were conducted between 1970 and 1982 to collect lipid measurements on a subset of those who participated in Exam 2. The fourth examination of surviving members of the original cohort was conducted during 1991-93 and collected data on 3,741 men. The National Institute on Aging conducted a fifth examination of approximately 3,400 survivors focusing on dementia and its precursors. This effort was concluded in 1996. Morbidity and mortality follow-up continues through grant and contract-supported efforts, and the current HHP dataset includes events through 1998.

Additional Details

Please note that biospecimen availability is subject to review by the NHLBI, BioLINCC, and the NHLBI Biorepository. Certain biospecimens may not be made available for your request. Section 3 of the
BioLINCC handbook
describes the components of the review process

Visits (Vials):

10/26/2018

Serum

Plasma

DNA

Total

Examination 2

13,621

75

0

13,696

Examination 3

5,211

0

0

5,211

Examination 4

14,949

23,503

10,853

49,305

Kittner Study

2,969

0

0

2,969

Lipoproteins Examination 1

1,856

1,859

0

3,715

Lipoproteins Examination 2

6,951

0

0

6,951

Lipoproteins Examination 3

28

6,012

0

6,040

Unknown

1,071

580

0

1,651

Visits (Subjects):

10/26/2018

Serum

Total number of subjects

Average volume (ml) per subject

Examination 2

2,812

3.71

Examination 3

5,207

1.84

Examination 4

3,500

3.88

Kittner Study

1,434

3.71

Lipoproteins Examination 1

1,398

5.71

Lipoproteins Examination 2

2,361

9.01

Lipoproteins Examination 3

24

1.60

Unknown

488

10.16

Plasma

Total number of subjects

Average volume (ml) per subject

Examination 2

32

4.18

Examination 4

3,614

5.54

Lipoproteins Examination 1

1,059

3.86

Lipoproteins Examination 3

1,740

3.37

Unknown

575

0.87

DNA

Total number of subjects

Average mass (µg) per subject

Average vials per subject

Examination 4

2,322

14.52

4.67

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